transformers2005fandomcom-20200215-history
The Dark Side of Tarn
Outskirts - Tarn Old crimes die hard. A scientist in Tarn could rid the universe of all disease tomorrow, and the city would still only be known for being where Megatron is from. The benevolent hand of justice has come down hard on the city that could be called the birthplace of the Decepticon movement. Weapons are illegal, as are any kind of gladiatorial matches. Expectations of privacy are a joke. Tarn will never be completely forgiven for the sins of the past. The second largest city-state on Cybertron, Tarn, can be seen situated ahead. Every city has it's 'bad side of town'. It's 'wrong side of the tracks'. The dark and dirty part of urbania where the elements that either have contention against conventional society or just don't give a turborat's aftplate gather and try to get by. Places where the enerbooze was usually terrible but cheap, and if you know the right mech that knows the right mechs you can get the things you aren't suppose to have. Tarn, despite the Autobot's efforts, was no different. If anything else, the police state restrictions and bans on various contraband goods just made getting those things to the ones that want them -more- profitable. Swindle wouldn't admit it to anyone openly, but he was -glad- Airlift had finally ousted him from that Commanding Officer position. It gave him more time to do what he did -- pad his own profit margins. That enticing discontent and rebellion amongst those sick of the Autobot authority was just enough benefit to the Empire for him to, shall we say, keep his nose mostly clean on the matter. The rest of it was left to the motley downtrodden that now populated the series of old, run down warehouses on the outskirts of the city. Street gang mechs and disgruntled labor-mechs could freely browse over everything from illegal weapons and subsystem implants to other contrabands like Playbot holo-vids and enerchip stars. How did anyone, even SWINDLE, who was cheerfully counting through payments at the back of the black market with a fresh enercigar sticking out of one corner of his mouth, manage to get such temptations into Tarn despite the patrols and goverment enforcement? That's what the Autobots would eventually want to find out. The other Decepticons? Here somewhere. Not Swindle's business at the moment, he was busy counting. Never let it be said that the mighty ONSLAUGHT does not support his fellow Combaticons in whatever endeavors that they may be doing when they are not fouling up one of his perfect plans. In fact, that is the only reason that Onslaught is even here at this moment, offering Strategic Support in a fashion that is often times not considered to be such a thing. Onslaught Stands. That's right, the massive form of Onslaught stands in what would normally be the shadows, although he seems to be taking in the sights and sounds of what is going on in the immediate vicinity. Either he's attempting to be supportive in a way that is silent or he's making sure that he looks viciously and violently intimidating, in the the event that someone decides they do not want to pay Swindle the correct price for the goods. Either that or he's here because he's got some plans of his own and this is a perfect opportunity to do some on site recon. YOU DECIDE. Shockwave is standing not too far from Swindle. The Decepticon commander was forced to use Swindle's channel to smuggle some very sensitive equipement...the kind of equipment that must not be noticed by either the Autobots or the Decepticon high command. "You better deliver my equipment safely Swindle. I'm expecting you to uphold EVERY part of our contract." Blast Off remains highly interested in Tarn, and seeing how his teammate was working his side business here, it seemed worth his while to come in to this seedy spot and get a fastrack on civilian unrest. Blast Off is a rebel at spark- always has been, always will be. And an Autobot police state is like a beacon of light to a moth as far as he's concerned. This purple and brown "moth" stands near Onslaught right now, not far from the others but mostly interested in the unhappy civilians perusing the goods. His violet optics flicker as he scans the area and takes note of who's here and what they are looking for. Tarn. The city, not that blowhard DJD guy, has started to make itself known for trouble. Not long ago there were a few actual defents here, during a riot the Bots quelled (with minimum of violence, ahthankya). However the sentiment of the city is a strong thing, and while a great deal of the citizens here were friendlies, and favored the Autobots, there was that dark side to the city, anonymous groups supplying Decepticons with extra supplies and a modicum of intel when possible. In short, the Autobots had their own Crystal City brewing and considering the bloodbath that ended up being, it was time to nip this thing right in the bud. The Autobots had recently gotten information out of a data courier for the Decepticons, which lead them to the area, being lead by... The scene freezes as the Autobots roll onto the scene. RODIMUS PRIME!! Tagline: Justice wears shoulderwings. He has his hand supinated as his head is turned to the Bots around him. The scene unfreezes, his foot hitting the ground. "I can't stress it enough, we come down firm, but not hard. We can't use the same heavyhanded tactics the Cons use. It's not fair to the people who live here to feel ill at ease when we come by, but we're also not letting these creeps use them as a shield to protect their underhanded tactics." He scans the streets ahead for a few moments. Unaligned Cybertronians start to simply leave the area, now that Big Red and quite the impressive team was here. They weren't stupid. He raises his arm, pointing towards the rather nondescript building...possibly a warehouse. "That's the tipoff spot, Bots. We need to spread out, and cover all the bases. Crusade, you and Springer get into flanking positions first thing. When Zipline gets back from recon, we'll need her inside to scan for secondary exits. Arcee, Sludge. You two are with me. Stun weapons only unless live weapons are brought forth, we need answers." He waits a few moments for answers, then adds the obligatory, "Roll out, Bots." Arcee has been here in Tarn countless times. Mostly, she's learned about this place's various woes through numerous field trips. Perhaps Blast Off felt much like a moth in this place, but Arcee has quite another view and experiene of these mechs in general... "Come on, Sludge, it's time to clean out the roach motels. Know what a roach motel is?" Arcee grins slightly as she changes her weapon over to stun. "It's where the roaches check in, but they don't check out. That's what Daniel told me a long time ago. So let's get to it." Oh, she had good feelings about this intel. She was sure they were about to bag something big. Me Sludge here. Me no know why. Everything somewhere. This do. Where me Sludge been? Why him narrator ask? Was in box. Now not in box. Not matter now. Other people here. Hmm. They look at thing. Suppose have to look at something. Oh. Him say something. Me no know. They walk towards thing. Me walk too. Ahh. Her Arcee say we break roaches. Sludge nods and says, "Me Sludge no like roaches. Me break." Wait. Stun? Me know no. "Arcee? What stun?" He asks many weeks behind the point. Springer simply raises his hand in acknowledgement before he heads off to one side, the Wrecker making his way through the side buildings with the ease of expereience, only glancing once towards Crusade to ensure he is moving as well, but says nothing.. kid's shown enough guts so far that he doesnt need to be watched over constantly. He pauses for a second as a thought crosses his mind and chuckles before he continues his walk, Springer's own decent size ensuring the few remaining unaligned go mind their own business somewhere else. Crusade follows Springer to the warehouse and moves into what he hopes is a "flanking position". He's not too sure what's about to happen, but he's got a feeling that he should be on his guard. It was about time that something had come out of that supply line raid from a few weeks back. After how embarassing it was for Zipline to get brought down so quickly and so hard, only to lose her weapon to Rumble and Swindle? It better have been for something! Okay, something more than a few extra crates of metals and various supplies, in either case. At least Zipline's impatience has come in handy. Ordered to recon the warehouse, the little tape deftly moved from shadow to shadow, darting around the building quickly and quietly. And in one case, right behind the legs of some mech coming out for an enersmoke. Some cats are stealthy; she capitalizes on her speed to not be seen. Her senses alert, she spotted a window somewhere along the side of the warehouse. She takes advantage of a couple of crates, leaping up on top of them to get to a decent point to peer in. Of course, the window was covered from the inside. But with her scanners, she finds a small corner that she can peer through, at least enough to catch a glimpse of some of the cons inside. "Eesh, full house," She mutters, angling her head around to get a better view. She opens a secure line to Rodimus. <> Zipline reports, <> Her optics narrow a little bit. <> Swindle doesn't even flinch at Shockwave's cold logical emphasis. He's gotten even more use to various command elements looming over his shoulders after that stint with Operations. "Come now, Shockwave." The shyster puffs his stogie and vents the energon fumes out the opposite corner of his mouth. "You know I wouldn't entrust something that important to this riffraff." He sets the credit sticks back in a case and closes it. "It's your insistances on certain... necessities that prevent it from being sent straight to your usual lab." There's a pause as he glances one side, then the other, then leans back towards the walking logic center, lowering his voice. "Besides, everything on the public tables is at least 2 years out of date by our standards. This is fastest way to get rid of that surplus and cause some benefit to weakening the Autobot hold on the area." With profit on the side for him, of course. If the Autobots needed any farther confirmation they were in the right spot, a pair of mechs walk out of the warehouse, cradling their recently purchased and clearly quite illegal by Tarn's regulations assault rifles. They're also wearing those masks the insurgent Decepticon supports are fond of. You know, the MEGATRON MASKS. They tap their smuggled energon cans together, chug them back, then toss the containers to transform and drive off in opposite directions into the night. But they're only two future troublemakers. You want the whole hornet's nest brewing inside, don't you? Shockwave is still passively waiting beside Swindle. He's not really worried because he knows there are very few chances Swindle would try to cross him but his presence decreases these chances by 34. The Military commander is still unaware of the Aubobots presence. "Then deliver the goods as you are supposed to." Onslaught takes enough time to roll his optics at the Megatron Masks. He hates those things. But this one, for once, is not his show so he doesn't say anything about it. Not really. He's more concerned with standing around and continuously looking intimidating and making sure that not one of these unaligned fools dares to attempt to leave without paying. It is, of course, his own scanners that start to reach out and around the area, as if trying to make sure that any possible Autobot presence gets found out about so that he may get his warning on. Even so, Onslaught decides to stop standing and move, just to get a sweep of the building going for a moment. He might as well be prepared. Blast Off is actually secretly delighted to see the Megatron masks. He had hoped that would catch up. Of course, it's a shameless use of the likeness of an individual Blast Off tried to assassinate... twice... but /whatever/. It's the *perfect* image for underground insurgents (Guy Fawkes eat your spark out) to generate instant interest and connection to the oppressed and angry masses in this birthplace of Megatron- and a window into the world of Decepticons. The shuttleformer approaches some of the Megatron mask wearing individuals and says calmly, "How are things going here? If you require further assistance, you need but ask..." As if the tip off wasn't enough, the sight of Megatron-masked rebels validated any information the courier had to offer. Rodimus gestures forward towards them, and by proximity, Blast Off. He raises his hand towards the group, "There's one now. Take 'em, Bots! Move in! I want this entire operation dismantled." Rodimus leaps forward, transforming into his mighty Winnebago mode, his trailer drawing in from off-screen naturally, and makes with the dynamic entry. Eco-friendly smoke belches out of his pipes as he roars forward, gunning it as he aims for the building itself! Rodimus rams the building side with impunity, sending metal flying in a dynamic entry. One of the Megatron-masked gumbies flinches, only about ten feet away from his entry point. "Uhm, there is a door, it's ri- "DECEPTICONS!" The Prime says firmly, "Let me be perfectly clear. You are NOT WELCOME HERE. LEAVE, NOW!" So there's Prime holding everyone's attention for the others to do their thing. It's the price of admission for fun entrances. Rodimus Prime folds forward into the most dangerous Winnebago in the galaxy! Combat: Arcee sets her defense level to Aggressive. Once the special 'Autobot Entrance' is made in the side of the building, Arcee scrambles inside and goes straight for a very familiar-looking shuttleformer...almost as if running up to get his autograph?? -- but NO, she's here to greet him with a flying kick! "Long time no see!" she greets. Combat: Arcee strikes Blast Off with her Boot To the Head! (Kick) attack! Springer finally makes finds a good spot off to hold his position, his cannon-rifle reploying and resting in his arms as he waits to see who comes his way. He watches Arcee's entrance and sighs, "Watch your balance when you do that, Arcee! Remember our training session... I threw you last time you tried that with me." He does keeps his optics watching, scanning side to side to watch for a proper target that is not trying to flee.. as fleeing ones are allowed to.. you know.. FLEE. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Springer has 'skipped' his action for this round. The longer that Zipline can get a good scout on the area, the better. The little cheetahbot isn't easy to pick out either, with only a single blue optic and some of her face visible through the small slit in the covered windows. It might only visible if someone actually took the time to look around and investigate. But as soon as that blue optic spots Onslaught turning to look around in a manner that screams 'patrolling', it blinks out and is gone, leaving nothing but a small line of light in the otherwise darkened window. Zipline touches down on the pavement a second later, tail lashing behind her to maintain her balance. In the next couple strides, she's halfway around the warehouse, and only speeing up. Which doesn't work to her favor when it comes time to turn. She comically scrambles to slow herself like a cat on a waxed floor, claws leaving gouges in the ashphault. But when she gets her traction under her, she's off like a shot, speeding through the new hole Rodimus made, right past his feet as a yellow blur. Let the others distract the big guns, she's keeping an eye out for exits! The Global Pose Tracker marks that Zipline has 'skipped' her action for this round. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Protected. Voice thing and button fun. Her Arcee say break small bits. Me break heads. Him Sideswipe say me good and get cookie if bite things. Me like cookie. Me like Sideswipe. Stun mean bite in head. Me Sludge know now. They talk about other stuff. Me no know. Make talk about let Roach-cons get places and not break something. sound too hard. Me break roaches and Decepticons. Get cookie. Me like cookie. Cookie, cookie, coooo-ooo-ooo-kie! What him say? Oh. Okay. Him Prime want whole thing broke? Me break. Sludge transforms and start thundering towards the building. Making a special opening of his own he sees Arcee breaking Blast Off and sniffs out one of his own to play with. He spots Onslaught and sends a playful eye laser to mark as his first target. Crusade charges in through the newly created entrance and sweeps his gaze around the area, trying to get a good look at the situation with a single glance. He goes after the first non-Autobot he sees, the one that's smoking the ener-cigar, and charges towards him with a fist drawn back. It's punching time! Combat: Crusade sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Crusade strikes Swindle with his SMOKING IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH (Punch) attack! Combat: Brontosaurus sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Brontosaurus strikes Onslaught with his him mine! (Disruptor) attack! As if on cue that's when Deadweight comes chugging up with several crates carefully carried on his forklift prongs. "You were saying?" Then Swindle turns to his right hand stooge. "You were suppose to have those out here ten minutes ago." "They were in the far back of storage," Deadweight grumbles irritably. Though not -too- much so since Shockwave is standing right there and its his stuff. "Where do you want these, sir?" While that's going on behind him Swindle pauses, slowly pulling the ener-stogie from his mouth and snuffing it out. You work the black markets long enough you get that ... twitch when something big is about to go down. Casually, maybe a little too casually, Swindle slides the case of credits off the table and into his subspace drawer, pushing it shut behind the fake grille that adorns his midsection afterwards. The scoots back his chair, pulls out a second case from under the table and stands, taking a moment to straighten out his bolo tie with his free hand. And that's when the Autobots storm the warehouse like a five man raid crashing the boss's lair at the end of a dungeon instance, courtesy of Rodimus being too much of a jerk to use the fragging door. Immeadiately the warehouse devolves into chaos, giving the Autobots plenty of oppritunity to shoot, taser or what have you the scattering criminal element trying to grab their illiciet goods and get the hell out. "Sorry gentlemechs, but we're going to have to close up shop." With the calm of someone that's been through many such raids Swindle just flicks out his enercigar. "All sales are final, SwindleCo thanks you for your semi-loyal partronage... And then he gets that smug, oily smirk of his back. "But now you have the oppritunity to put your recent purchases to the test and express your, aheh, dislike with the current management of the city-state." As Swindle makes a shifty withdrawl towards the back of the warehouse, several of the street thugs and those Megatron-Masked rebels grab up their guns, or whatever else they can, and start kicking over tables for makeshift barriers. Maybe some of Onslaught's sterness and strategy rubbed off on them? Either way, they open fire on the Autobots barging in, along with a few shouts of "FOR TARN!" and "MEGATRON FOREVER!". Unfortunately Swindle's business-like departure gets cut short when Crusade blindsides him with a punch. With a grunt the Combaticon steps back, looks the mech up and down for a moment. "Small fry." ... and he just turns to walk away? Of course, a couple of the big thugs standing at the back turn their guns on the mech instead, that's probably why. You drop Tarn Street Gangs. Combat: Swindle strikes Racing Winnebago < Rodimus Prime > with Tarn Street Gangs's Rising Rebellion Area attack! -2 Combat: Swindle strikes Springer with Tarn Street Gangs's Rising Rebellion Area attack! -2 Combat: Swindle strikes Crusade with Tarn Street Gangs's Rising Rebellion Area attack! -2 Combat: Critical Hit! Combat: Swindle strikes Arcee with Tarn Street Gangs's Rising Rebellion Area attack! -2 Combat: Swindle strikes Brontosaurus with Tarn Street Gangs's Rising Rebellion Area attack! -2 Shockwave reacts as soon as the door are busted. After the capture of the Decepticon courier, it was only a matter of times before the Autobots would discover this operation but Shockwave hoped they will need a little longer to figure it out. "You will need get your hands on what's not yours Rodimus." The cyclop raises his cannon arm and fires a quick shot at the Autobot leader. Combat: Shockwave sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Shockwave strikes Racing Winnebago < Rodimus Prime > with his Disruptor attack! Tarn Street Gangs Rebels, gangbangers and other motley sorts fed up with the Autobot 'governing' of Tarn and it's region. Notibly a lot of them wear masks that replicate Megatron's infamous 'bucket helmet' appearance in tribute to the mech they believe to be the true champion of the city-state instead of these red badged glitch-offs. Patrolling. Is that what the mighty Onslaught has been demoted to? A futile patroller that wanders around the building and peers into the shadows and out of openings in search of various things that may or may not be worth paying attention to? Has the powerful Combaticon Commander been put in such a useless and futile position that he can do nothing more than WALK in a squared circle? Pining over his own processes and schemes that could have made whatever is happening at the moment work that much smoother?! Has ONSLAUGHT not paid attention to the fact that walls are crashing down and Autobots are pouring into the building like hot fudge on a ice cream sundae cake?! Pretty much. Y'know, until he gets blasted with a laser right in the shoulder. "Argh!" Onslaught is pulled out of his thought processes by the DINOBOT LASER. It burns through some of his shoulder armor and he immediately falls back into a more guarded stance, his attention being drawn to the mass that is Sludge. "You will rue the day you decided to launch an assault upon the mighty Onslaught, dinobot." is what the intellectual mastermind has to say to what is clearly an inferior intellectual specimech. "Until then? I offer you a lesson in futility." And Onslaught kicks a random running unaligned mech in the general direction of the Dinobot, before backtracking and attempting to put some space between himself and such possible devastation. Best to always prepare oneself when facing down a Dinobot. Combat: Onslaught sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Onslaught strikes Brontosaurus with his Aerial Mechneuvers 102 - Gumby Interrupted (Kick) attack! <'Decepticon'> Swindle faux casually, "Guess they finally got that mech to squeal. Tch. Well at least now I know to cancel his payment account, he won't be needing it in their brig." Blast Off blinks and looks up as suddenly- RODIMUS PRIME. ...Slaaag. His questions for the Megatron mask-wearers will have to wait. He's just stepping back and starting to bring his ionic blaster out of subspace when a familiar voice rings out nearby. He hardly has the time to look before he's getting a pink foot in the face. "Gah!" He staggers back, ducking down for traction and then using anti-gravs to rocket back a bit. The weapon comes out and aims at the femme. "Not long enough, apparently...." He brushes his dented faceplate with his hand, looking a bit annoyed at that. There's a glance as Springer dashes by... great, slag Arcee and Springer will be mad at him. He pauses... then shrugs. He isn't one to really care about that anyway. Arcee attacked- there's only one appropriate response to that. He fires at her, still backing away. Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Blast Off strikes Arcee with his Nice to see you too- NOT attack! -3 Racing Winnebago < Rodimus Prime > retorts, "I gave you a chance, Shockwave. This is NOT your city, and I'll be smelted before I let you Decepticon creeps walk in here and instigate riots." Weapons fire scorches his frame lightly. He transforms, taking the shoxcannon to the chest as he does. The Prime grunts in discomfort, as he raises his rifle. "Was it your idea? To give them Megatron masks. Megatron?!" He cracks off two quick shots at Shockwave, "One of the worst rustspots that Cybertron's ever seen, and you're turning him into some vengeful ideal." He opens fire again, the shot going wide, meant to scare off one or two of the hooligans, "It's a joke, a horrid, joke of a monster of a mech, not some symbol of vindication!" Rodimus Prime returns to his mighty robot form! Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Shockwave with his Punctuated for Emphasis! (Laser) attack! "Oh no you don't..." Crusade growls quietly as Swindle starts to walk away, his armblades sliding from their compartments and locking into place with a soft click. He starts forwards, intent on taking his target down, but the sudden assault from the thugs stops him in his tracks. Gritting his teeth, he presses forwards towards his target, ignoring the two gunnners, and charges at Swindle for another swing or two. It dawns on him that he's out in the open and a horribly easy target, but it's too late to change his course now! Combat: Crusade strikes Swindle with his Armblades attack! -3 Button useful. Me forget who break. Prime say Onslaught. Me do that. Say other stuff too but me forget. What that? First the gunfire hits Sludge. He moves a little as it's tickly! Onslaught makes his speech and kicks someone towards him. Sludge laughs. It's not a pleasant sound. Like a gravestone being ground to gravel. The hapless missile/noncombatant bounces almost harmlessly off of one of Sludge's legs. Sludge prepare his witty retort, "Me no need lesson. Me smart enough. You scared. You running. You no be able to run far enough to get away from me Sludge. Me follow scent of fear. Crunching laughter accompanies another shot from his eye lasers. Sludge doesn't care if it hits or not. Sludge is in a playful mood and he's found a new toy. Combat: Brontosaurus strikes Onslaught with his we're going to play . . . (Disruptor) attack! As Arcee attacks Blast Off, she notices an uptick in...ambient noise, coming from the entrance but growing steadily unhappier as the dissidents from Tarn begin to fire upon the Autobots. "What? -- Ow," she grumbles. This is NOT a good sign. Riots begin this way. Where did all these mask-wearing thugs suddenly come from, anyhow?? Blast Off's shot catches her in the shoulder armor, and she draws her laser-pistol, levelling it at the shuttleformer. "Isn't it below you to be 'frolicking with the commons'?" she asks curiously. "How's this worth *your* while? Surely, you wouldn't be helping your 'friends' through the generousness of your own spark." She draws slightly closer, and attempts to snatch one of the Megatron masks to get a better look at it. Is it some kind of sinister technology, or is it a standard one-shanix mask from Party Galaxy? Combat: Arcee strikes Blast Off with her Gimme That Mask! (Grab) attack! Springer tilts his head at the newest order, then scans the battle carefully and as most seem to be fairly matched still, with a closer check on Crusade's matchup... but since it's just Swindle the Wrecker isn't worried about how the kid will do, he moves in the direction he saw the unaligned going.. and lets them get a few blocks away before he steps around the corner and smiles his brightest smiles, "Gentlemen.." He pauses and looks at them, "And ladies if any of you actually are.. my boss, Rodimus Prime, that big red Autobot over the giving Shockwave's face a re-arranging, wishes to speak with you here shortly. If you would, step this way." He again pause, "That is of course the easy way. If you wish to choose the hard way... I'd suggest you not and leave it at that." He rinse and repeats said process a few times.. and privately hopes SOME of them are slow enough to choose the hard way. Chaos, chaos all around, and Zipline uses it to her advantage! As autobot clashes against decepticon, Zipline darts between their feet. Most mechs are just too busy trying to focus on their targets, not looking at what's darting past their legs. She almost pays for it by getting stepped on. No time to glare at the mech that almost stepped her tail off, because those optics spot Swindle making headway for the back of the room. Even with such a small space to maneuver in, Zipline's acceleration is impressive. In the short time that Crusade distracts Swindle with a slug upside the head, the cheetah has made it across the room. She skids to a stop just in front of the door to the back exit, drifting a full 180 to face Swindle. As she slides to a stop, her cannon materializes out of subspace. Seems like someone's got her cannon replaced since getting it torn off. Plus a few upgrades. The top of it telescopes out past her head, and clicks into place. The barrel raises up to level at Swindle, and a glowing, sparking slug can be seen spinning down in the rails. "Hi!" She says, chipperly. "Going somewhere?" THWOOM, the cannon goes off, firing the spinning, armor tearing slug. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Zipline strikes Swindle with her Say hello to 2.0! attack! -3 Combat: Zipline's attack damages your armor. Shockwave seems unphased by Rodimus' attack enven though it leave smoking hole in his chest. "As usual, your assessment of the situation is completely wrong Prime. You should leave here before you lose one of your soldier again." Once again, the Decepticon cyclop raises his cannon arm and fires a quick shot at the Autobot leader Combat: Shockwave strikes Rodimus Prime with his Blinding Visible Light attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Rodimus Prime's Accuracy. (Blinded) In middle of the chaos a couple of the rebels scramble from their cover, moving towards the Dinobot stomping around. Are.. are they actually going to try and help Onslaught? ... Or they're going to try and take advantage of Sludge's massive size by spraypainting their gang signs and anti-autobot markings across his girth. Though one does aim his paintcan at the Dinobot's face for effect. The mechs thought they got away, only to have a different Autobot corner them.... and as soon as they realize WHO it is and what group he use(?) to run with they immeadiately drop their guns and hold their arms up. And probably leak their oilpans a little too. They don't have masks though, must be a couple of the street thugs. Combat: Swindle strikes Brontosaurus with Tarn Street Gangs's Anti-Autobot Graffiti attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Brontosaurus 's Accuracy. (Blinded) Systems are showing that those eye lasers are going to become a problem and Onslaught is more than ready to attempt to find a way to stop them. "Fascinating. You are a bigger fool than your brethren." Onslaught takes the eye beams in the chest, as he continues his backpedaling and leaps over a table, dropping behind it and flipping it over for some protection. He draws his Sonic Stun Gun and fires a handful of shots in the dinobot's direction. But that's it. Either he's not taking the Dinobot seriously or he's planning something. Hm. Combat: Onslaught sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Onslaught strikes Brontosaurus with his Intermediate Marksmanship 203 - Follow The Leader attack! -3 Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Brontosaurus 's Agility. (Crippled) He just can not just walk away for once, can he? Of course not, never that easy. When Crusade lunges at him Swindle turns around and holds up the briefcase, the blades punching through it as he shields himself with it, keeping the attack from digging deep into his body. He leans over to the side a little to look, and frowns. "Tch, should of known they sold me a second rate armor lining in this thing." And then Zipline intercepts while he's occupied, blasting him with the NEW AND IMPROVED railcannon that bowls him over into the two gunmechs that had been trying to chase his pursuers off. ".. That hurts more than I remember.." He mutters as he ignores that he's shoving one mechs' face harder into the floor when he uses it as a prop to get himself back up. Eyes the two Autobots. Then to the doors off-sides. Sigh. Looks like he's going to have to handle this business first. "Cute, kitten, real cute." And then he pulls out THE ORIGINAL, gripping it like an oversized handcannon as he levels it at Zipline and fires. "But I prefer the first!" Combat: Swindle sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Swindle strikes Zipline with the Swindle-forged Zipline's Railcannon attack! -1 Blast Off ...has a mask? Well... apparently he did... perhaps he had idly picked one up as he walked through the inventory. Could make a nice target to shoot later, just for old times sake... unless his Loyalty program prevents even THAT. As she raises her weapon at him, he steps back, optics narrowing. "This is not... my usual abode, no.... But civil unrest? Rebellion? An /oppressed people yearning to be free/?" He smirks under the faceplate. "How could I resist?" He stops to glare at her, head slightly coming down as he looks thoughtful. "I know a police state when I see one, Arcee. Here you Autofools are, claiming "freedom is the right of all sentient beings"... while grinding these citizens under your heel. How can you be so blind to this yourself, I wonder? I've taken it as a personal mission to ensure that ALL individuals can see the extent of Autobot self-righteousness and hypocracy firsthand... and this city is an *excellent* example!" He actually takes a step towards her, swept up in his "mission"... when Arcee lunges and grabs the mask. Blast Off immediately lets go and leaps way back, not liking how up close she just got. Anti-gravs kick in and he starts hovering into the air, seeking that distance as he fires another shot. "And you all make this SO easy..." Combat: Blast Off strikes Arcee with his Who's the self-righteous one? (Laser) attack! -1 Rodimus Prime staggers backwards, his forearm up over his eyes as Shockwave shoots him in the face. With light. Well lasers are made of light, so it hurts! He closes his eyes in response, grunting. "Cheap shot, Shockwave!" His faceplate turns into a grimace, "And any one of MY team is worth fifty of those street thugs!" His optical systems keep flaring out, like it's suddenly a JJ Abrams film. He gazes at Shockwave, his arm cannon forward, in a classic aggressive pose, and there's just too much lens flare! He steps forwards a few steps towards the purple. He wasn't that blinded, that he could mistake Shockwave's large, incredibly purple form, and opens fire again at the mad scientist with his sidearm. Combat: Rodimus Prime misses Shockwave with his Jerkface!...okay not too good on the insults today. (Laser) attack! The first? Had a kick to it. This one? The cannon on Zipline's back shifts back on recoil compinsator rails, while the remaining recoil sends the telescoping barrel sliding back into place. She has to dig her claws in slightly, but it's nothing like the near bowl-her-backwards recoil that the original had. Unfortunately, it also leaves her briefly destabalized. Zipline's optics widen. "HEY!" She huffs, 'exhaling' sharply from her coolant systems, "You jerk, that's mine!" Only now it's aimed AT her. Zipline shifts to the side quickly, rolling from the projectile. But railcannon ammo is faster than she is. It tears right through her armor on her side, leaving a neat hole in her that starts dribbling a little bit of energon. She keeps rolling despite it. Instead of ending up on her paws though, she ends up flat out on her belly, wincing. "Hmph, keep it, see if I care. Mine's better, wanna see why?" Her optics glow a little brighter as scanning software activates. Almost immediately she spots the cracks in Swindle's armor made by the spinning slug. And quickly, beams that information to Crusade. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Neutral. Combat: Zipline analyzes Swindle for weaknesses Crusade can exploit. "Pfft, what are you going to do with that pea-shooter, hot shot?" Arcee banters with Blast Off. In truth, that shot...kind of hurt. But she's trying to stick to the spirit of the mission as best she can. She positions herself closer to the makeshift building 'entrance' (the big hole in the wall), and as she's talking to Blast Off, she sends the spray-painted Sludge some telemetry data to do Dino-things with. From where she's standing, she can't see what Springer's doing, but should he require her expertise she knows he'll inform her. "Aren't you trying to impress these people? They don't LOOK very impressed, Blast Off, and why is that? I think it's because this crackpot idea is falling really flat. They don't look like teeming masses yearning to be free, they look like they're at the Steel Balloon piling in before last call." Combat: Arcee takes extra time to assist Brontosaurus 's next attack. Crusade tears his blades free of the briefcase and steps to the side, moving around Swindle's makeshift shield for another attack. Doing so gives him a very good view of Zipline winding up on the receiving end of a blast from the railgun. "Pick on someone your own size!" Crusade yells as he quickly scans the data from Zipline. Excellent... excellent. He sets his gaze upon one of those weak spots that the Gun-Kitty highlighted for him, and tries to slam the point of his armblade into the area. Combat: Crusade strikes Swindle with his Leave the kitty alone D: attack! -3 Combat: Crusade (Crusade) used "Armblades": A Level 3 MELEE attack. Combat: Crusade's attack has damaged your Firepower! Springer keeps stalking the backstreets around where the main fight is going, and ensuring none of the little trouble-makers escape, doing his best to be the terror in the night! Without a cape. A corner of his mind keeps track of the fight, ready to head that way in a few jumps if someone starts to have problems but for now he just keeps the radicals moving in the right direction, into one of the dead-end alley, with a small string of broken weapons behind. One group finally decides to choose option to which he gives a proper Wrecker stun attack, a.k.a. he knocks a few unconcious then drags them by their heals to the main group. This hard work. Roaches and Decepticons me stun by bite in head. Me break Onslaught but no stun him. Her Arcee say there thugs now too but they maybe roaches? Me Sludge smart dino. Me only break right thing or stun right thing. Me keep up and be good. Then me get cookie! "Aaaa-choo!"Sludge sneezes. "Why try give me sniffle?" Onslaughts blast hits home but it doesn't even make it to base camp on mount Sludge. "Yuck. Me no see right. Silly colours." Turning his head to face Onslaught, guided by his sense of smell, He fires yet another eye blast this time just to clear his field of vision. Soon . . . Sludge is turning up the heat. Hope you brought burn cream Onslaught. Combat: Brontosaurus takes extra time to steady himself. Pass Combat: Springer strikes Tarn Street Gangs with his Wrecker-smack (Punch) attack! Shockwave sidesteps Rodimus and easily avoid the incoming attack. Not that it's a hard feat to accomplish against a blinded opponent. The Decepticon uses the opening created by the attack to close the distance with Rodimus. "Actually...only a few member of your teams have a combat efficiency 20% superior to these...thugs." Shockwave chooses to strike on the Autobot commander's left flank by throwing a vicious right and towards Rodimus' face. Combat: Shockwave strikes Rodimus Prime with his Cold Fist of Logic attack! -2 Hiding behind the table is probably not going to be good for business. Considering just how big the Onslaught is. And well, considering that he's fighting a Dinobot, there is perhaps a chance that he can maybe attempt to fool the Dinobot that is attempting to find him. So he transforms. Into his giant battlestation mode. And it is with this mode that he decides to be very still (as if he has a choice) and see if the Dinobot wanders past him or something. No superior witty banter is given either, at this moment, as Onslaught is clearly just attempting to outsmart Sludge for the moment. If this works, he'll have an easier time attempting to get the drop on him. Maybe. Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 1090 Combaticon Command Center, Brutal Battlestation! Combat: Combaticon Command Center compares his Intelligence to Brontosaurus 's Intelligence: Success! Combat: Combaticon Command Center takes extra time to steady himself. Pass "Eh. That was the last piece of useful ammo I have for it anyways. It's just a fancy trophy now. Wouldn't be able to -sell- it if I wanted to." Now Swindle is just rubbing it, smarmy as always. "What? Trying to play mexican stand-off now? Don't give me that stare, you don't have the poncho to pull off the technique for tha--aagh!" And that's when Crusade interrupts him -again-. This time the blades hit their mark, and then some, thanks to the raincannon shell having disrupted the structural integerty of his armor. Which now has a lot of it lying on the floor as Swindle smacks into the wall. Fortunately the wall is next to the door. Ugh, silver lining or some stupid sentimental slag like that. "Maybe you got a new trick or two." Swindle reachs over to grab the doorframe and pull himself up with one hand. "But you still need -help- to play with the big mechs, I see." He kicks the door open with one foot, stepping partway into the opening before turning back to the two Autobots. "Alas, it's about time for me to hit the rails." Huh? Rails? "But feel free to have a lovely parting gift." The combaticon con-mech covers his exit by bombarding both Autobots with his scatterblaster as he's running out. Combat: Swindle sets his defense level to Protected. Combat: Swindle misses Zipline with his Scatter Blaster Area attack! Combat: Swindle strikes Crusade with his Scatter Blaster Area attack! Blast Off snorts, unimpressed as Arcee calls his weapon a pea shooter... he knows very well it's not. "How droll..." He states, flying higher up and circling around as he tries to get above and behind. "Unwashed masses... whether here or the Steel Balloon... all have reasons to be unhappy. Some drown their sorrows in drink- and others in action. Take care their action isn't YOUR downfall..." He takes another shot- a heavier hit this time. Meanwhile, Blast off radios the other Combaticons. <> Combat: Blast Off strikes Arcee with his Pea Shooter THIS (Laser) attack! Springer is turning back when his quick check of the fight shows Rodimus gets blinded and Shockwave's follow-up attack. He flicks his arm and tosses the last of the unconcious gangers that he had with him into the alley and starts to head away, but pause and turns back, "Stay. Sit.. You move, I'll come back and make sure you sit. With glue if I need to." He quickly turns agian, and climbs one of the smaller nearby buildings before speeding across the tops back to the fight, angling for Shockwave. "Come on, Red! I know you can inspire us a bit better then that, can't you?" He finally gets close enough to the fight, that he half-crouches down and leaps as hard as he can as he tries to drop-kick Shockwave, or at the very least distrat him long enough for Rodimus to get his feet back on. "Be right with ya, Pinkie." Hit or miss.. the Wrecker gets back to his feet and heads off in Arcee's direction. Combat: Springer strikes Shockwave with his ShoWreckyuKen! (Smash) attack! -1 Crusade raises an arm to shield his face from the scatterblaster's shots. Worst gift ever! He gives chase, trusting the other Autobots to keep the thugs and Decepticons busy, and pulls his trusty old rifle out of subspace as he follows Swindle outside. It's not easy to aim the unwieldy firearm, especially while running, but Crusade's got a lot of practice with it. He shoots to cripple, not to kill, going for Swindle's legs instead of anything vital. Combat: Crusade strikes Swindle with his Best Friend Rifle attack! -1 Combat: Crusade's attack has damaged your Firepower! Rodimus Prime finally gets his optics back aligned properly, the bright blue light flickering to life (LADIES). The vulnerability of the moment left him open to Shockwave's next attack, as his fist drills Rodimus in a nasty hook. SLO-MO TIME occurs as as Prime reels from the attack, his body twisting with the impact. It nearly lifts him off of his feet when his hips move to twist, but Rodimus keeps his feet under him as he does a full spin. A look of surprise crosses his face as he clenches his fist, but then suddenly MEAN GREEN steps up to the plate to buy Rodimus a few more moments of recovery. "Springer?" It was just like the Wrecker to never miss up a chance to deliver a sweet sucker punch. He glances aside to Arcee, she's still deaing with that sniper...and Blast Off, despite his problems, wasn't a joke. "I've got her, Springer." Ho-kay that phrasing was a bit awkward, considering their past. He taps two buttons on his forearm, a simple repair ray, embedded into his arm, which he TOTALLY will have in all future episodes. A wavey green ray hits Arcee, helping spontaneously reformat those injuries on her form. Combat: Rodimus Prime quickly patches up some of Arcee's minor injuries. Button time. Him disappear? No? Prime say he coffee table or something. He not so small and scared. Me look for not small that smell scared. Sludge sniffs the air. "There you are. Me think. Either way me turn up heat." Me Sludge aim at him Onslaught-coffee table. A blast of ignited gasses proceed to scorch everything in that direction. If he Sludge right Onslaught's burned maybe broke. If not he Sludge can shake things up. Combat: Brontosaurus strikes Combaticon Command Center with his you coffee table? Me no know. When cookie? attack! "What's that? Can't hear you over the screams of pain," Zipline quips, lifting a paw up to one of her ears. She then rises back up on all fours, her tail swaying behind her, the tip giving a sharp flick. It stops briefly as she glares at Swindle. Blue optics narrow, ears swiveling back. "Keep talking, I don't see anyone here to help YOU." Hydrolics in her legs release their tension almost immediately. She bolts forward, just as the scattered pellets fire from the gun. They pelt the ground around her, but she keeps just a pace ahead of them, her speed increasing rapidly. Take out the tires? Swindle isn't even transformed yet. But that just means he has fewer tires to take out. Zipline is just behind Crusade's rifle fire, and she lunges, at high speed, right at the back of one of Swindle's knees. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Zipline strikes Swindle with her KITTY BULLET TO THE KNEE (Ram) attack! Combat: Zipline's attack has damaged your Strength! Arcee is really tired of having Blast Off talking to her. Also, firing his gun, along with his mouth. It's like being hit with boring and painful at the same time. It's wearing on her diodes. But she'll need to delay him just a little bit longer until Springer shows up. How can she delay him? Ah, wait, she knows. "Hey, I came across one of your pals last cycle...oddly enough, a little less of a slimeball than the rest of you...but I thought you'd like it anyway. This mech from Vos asked me if I was your...special friend. Heheheh!" She snort-laughs, then suddenly lunges toward the hovering Blast Off in an attempt to knock the pea-shooter out of his hands. "GIVE ME THAT!" Oh, and right before she leaps up to claw wildly at Blast Off, Arcee is hit with a healing ray! Rodimus, what can't he do. Combat: Arcee misses Blast Off with her GIVE ME THAT (Ruckus) attack! Shockwave is dropkicked into the building's wall. He leaves a huge mark into it but it doesn't seem to be hurt too much by the attack, "Sending your bodyguard in won't save you from deafeat Rodimus." The military commander leaps into the air and transforms into his space-gun mode. The energy builds up inside Shockwave before he releases into into a deadly burst aimed towards Springer and Rodimus. Shockwave leaps into the air and transforms into his space gun mode. Combat: Space Gun strikes Rodimus Prime with his Explosive Gamma Ray Area attack! Combat: Space Gun misses Springer with his Explosive Gamma Ray Area attack! Swindle gets out the doors and hustling across the back lot when Crusade opens fire. The shot connects in the back of his shoulder, making the Combaticon stumble just enough for Zipline to plow into the back of his legs and send him toppling forward. Swindle hits the ground with a skid and tumbles a bit. Then doesn't bother getting up, instead transforming to jeep mode and peeling out. "Sorry fellows, but this scene has gotten a little too hot for me. It's time I made like a bad check, and bounced!" But where is he going to go? This may be the bad side of town, but they are still in the middle of Autobot controlled territory. Where could Swindle possibly go that could get awa-- --That's when part of the lot opens up in front of the speeding jeep, revealing what he meant by 'hit the rails' as his headlights illuminate the tracks within leading underground. So THAT is how he's been moving contraband around Cybertron without anyone noticing it! Old underground train tunnels, likely connected to the railyard in Nova Cronum. Swindle folds down and in on himself to become a military grade off-road jeep. Combat: Military Gunnery Jeep begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Being a giant battlestation makes Onslaught that much easier to hit... or burn. Whatever you want to call it. The giant battlestation doesn't do much by way of reactions because it is a big giant battlestation and it is currently on fire. There are burns and charring along the armored outside of the station as things start to catch fire, but the OnStation stands firm... tall... and, yeah, still on fire. Nothing else happens from it, though, besides a small satellite dish on the top of it twirling and pointing in the direction of Sludge. Combined with the scanners and such built into the interior of the OnStation, there's a high probability that some crucial information about the Dinobot will be relayed to the inside of it and to Onslaught's primary combat strategy processors. Still? Fire Burns. Combat: Onslaught analyzes Sludge for weaknesses. Blast Off glares as Rodimus patches up Arcee with some sort of..of heal beam. NO FAIR. He glances around... how come THEY don't have a medic? Blast off usually lives longer with one around, after all. Then she brings up... who again? Pal? What PAL? Blast off doesn't have any p... Wait, has Harbinger added *Arcee* to her list? This has to stop.... "WHAT?! WHO? If Harbinger has added YOU to that blasted list of hers, too, I PROTEST!!! She's going to ruin my good name!" The Combaticon shuttle looks quite affronted, but it doesn't mean he's not paying attention. When Arcee suddenly lunges at him, NOPE. He kicks in an even greater burst of antigravs, rocketing away. Speaking of too easy, he replies, "You want this??... HERE you GO." Sure enough, he fires at her again. Combat: Blast Off strikes Arcee with his YOU WANTED IT attack! -2 <'Decepticon'> Swindle says, "And that was such a nice operation too... oh well, can't be helped. This is why you never set up shop in the same place twice in this line of work." <'Decepticon'> Onslaught says, "I suggest a tactical removal of our forces from this location. With it being compromised, it will be nothing more than a waste of resources to continue to fight these foolish Autobots. Withdrawing will allow them to feel as though they have done something useful and give us a window of opportunity to exploit while they celebrate their victory as pretentiously usual." "Maybe not, Shockwave..." This time, however, he braces for the impact, rather that than encourage Springer to be focsed on. His paintjob bubbles up, the metal beneath it, irradiated and dripping. But now, Rodimus just looks downright stern. "But he bought me enough time to take care of two issues. Which just leaves one." Smoke rolls off of him as he takes a more aggressive stance, one foot forward, his photon eliminator rifle in hand, the large Pathblaster derivative shines with light reflecting off of it, a sparkle of light gleams off of the barrel's tip. Light wells up within it, "that I am about to solve. You want to trade blasts, Shockwave?! A white hot bolt of energy blazes out of the weapon, actually recoiling in the Prime's hand as he does." It's probably a bit unfair of him to shoot a gun at a gun, but well...Roddy's pragmatic. Combat: Rodimus Prime sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Space Gun with his Yo Con I heard you liked guns so I blahblahblah. attack! -4 Oooooooo. Pretty. Coffeetable on fire. Burn well. Me finish now. Break proper. Sludge moves forward. It's not like anything's going to stop him. He stops himself. Looking at the burning battle station Sludge says, "You run. You hide. You try sneaky stuff. You on fire . . . me fine. Foucs on thing to break then break it. Get more done." Satisfied he's dispensed enough wisdom for the day he takes a standing leap and jumps upon Onslaught letting gravity help with the breaking. It doesn't get a cookie though. Combat: Brontosaurus strikes Combaticon Command Center with his me finish breaking. get cookie. attack! -1 Zipline touches down on all fours after rebounding off of Swindle's leg. She gives her head a shake, a few cracks in her armor visible along her forehead. At least the ringing clears up quickly. Claws rake at the ground when she gets back up, bracing herself. "Oooh, I don't think so!" The tough pads of her paws grip at the ground, giving her extra traction to take off at a full run after the jeep. "Your luck's gone bankrupt, pal, and we're here to collect!" Where IS Swindle going? She is hot on his tail, bounding rapidly after him. She smirks, assuming she's got him cornered. But her optics widen when the wall in the lot opens right up in front of them. "Whoa! Secret back door!" At first it might look like she might be able to keep the pace with Swindle. That is, until the secret door to the tracks slides shut right in front of Zipline's face. Her legs start back-pedalling quickly, but she just doesn't slow down in time. *THUNK* Zipline runs head first, right into the hidden door. She slowly slides down it to her haunches, her head swaying back and forth as if dizzy. "OoOoh lOok, sTarS." Crusade lowers his rifle, staring down into the darkness where Swindle vanished into. "...Damn it." Chasing him further is a possibility, but there's no knowing what traps or guards might be down there. "We lost him." He turns towards Zipline, looking rather dejected and unhappy with himself. "Are you okay? He got you good back there." The Global Pose Tracker marks that Crusade has 'skipped' his action for this round. Springer's instinct start to go 'Danger! Danger!' as he starts to run towards Arcee, and rather then worry about WHERE it comes from he simply plants one leg and shoves himself sideways, flinging himself up into the area towards the warehouse the Autobots had blown a hole in to get access. Rather then enter the opening he lands just over it, and with his speed he runs along the wall for a few mor feet then as his traction starts to fade he leaps outwards as strongly as he can, spinning in a quick circle.. and a arch of energy slashes through the air as he passes by Blast Off, his energy saber in hand as he lands and looks back over his shoulder at the 'con, "For someone who cries that he's a gentleman.. you hit the ladies often enough. How.. /ungentlemanly/ to loose your cool like that. Such a savage." Combat: Springer strikes Blast Off with his Energy Saber attack! -2 Arcee is at a distinct disadvantage whenever she has to deal with Blast Off, but mostly when he's hovering just out of her reach with a weapon trained on her, he has all the advantages then. This next shot is a pretty good one, because she catches it right in the chestplate, and sweet mother of primus does it HURT. This time, in order not to scream, she actually has to land on the floor with an undignified 'thud' just to collect herself. It would seem that Springer arrived just in the nick of time. Right now, she can't even thank him, not yet... Combat: Arcee takes extra time to steady herself. Pass The Global Pose Tracker marks that Zipline has 'skipped' her action for this round. <'Decepticon'> Swindle says, "... Yeah, what Onslaught said." <'Decepticon'> Swindle doesn't mention he already did just that. Space Gun is blasted out of the building by the Photon Eliminiator. Shockwave manages to not crash after the attack. He assesses the situation for a moment but he's chance of defeating the Autobot leader are pretty slim. "This victory is not significant Prime. In the end, Tarn will fall." Then, he turns around and speeds away in direction of Darkmount. Combat: Space Gun begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Military Gunnery Jeep OnStation has had enough of this foolishness. "Enough of this foolishness." See? "Dinobot. You will have your day. But for now, I must take my leave. As you have no idea what I'm capable of. And this is not the day that you will know it." Those words are just used to try and confuse the Dinobot as Onslaught transforms into his truck mode and gets down with the getting down of driving through the nearest wall and getting the frag out of here. Cybertronian Reformatting Sequence Initiated Variable Guise Access Code: 86335 MRBM Missile Trailer, Moving Mayhem! Combat: MRBM Missile Trailer begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Space Gun and Military Gunnery Jeep Blast Off 's shot knocks Arcee right off her feet, and the shuttleformer heads in slightly towards her, ready for another shot... maybe he can finish her off this time... when out of NOWHERE comes someone GREEN and MEAN and pretty much slicing him in two, or so it feels. "AAIIGH!!" Springer's sword shreds metal doen Blast Off's torso and legs... even slicing into a foot and damaging his thrusters. The shuttle is stunned by the massive damage and falls down to the ground with a CLANG of rent metal. Then he stumbles back to his feet somehow, ventilation systems cycling heavily as he regains equilibrium. His head turns to glare at Springer. "...Savage? You call ME a savage after a surprise attack like that?" He clutches his side in pain as scans run and...slag. That one blow took out about half his health. Energon drips, and he debates his next move... and then Onslaught calls a retreat. Well... now, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea to him. He points a finger at Springer. "I'll have you know SHE attacked first!" Then he transforms and retreats after his Commander. Megatron masks will have to wait. With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Combat: Space Shuttle begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Arcee stands back up, smiling gratefully at Springer. "Thanks..." She glances around, frowning when she hears Zipline's radio. "Hm, Swindle undoubtedly got away with something. Something we might need to figure out. Are you okay?? We should find the others..." Springer leans over and picks up the pieces of Blast Off that fell, "Come back, your forgetting something!" He watches Blast Off run away.. AGAIN. After waiting to ensure the savage caveman ran off, doest matter if she attacked first, you don't hit ladies. He finally turns to check on Arcee, smiles a bit as he see's she's fine if a bit roughed up and walks over to check, "Looks like we need to have a few more training sessions here soon, m'lady." He winks once before he stalks off down a lane, after which you shortly hear him backing out orders.. and a gaggle of radicals work their way out slowly, most carrying at least one other unconcious companion, and points at the center of biggest open area ther, "SIT." Rodimus Prime gives a firm nod at Shockwave's retreat, He actually steps up to the second hole in the building he made. Take that, Sludge. Rodimus watches the Spacegun vacate, with his standard shallow threats. He had a shot on him, but all things considered, "It's alright, Zipline. Mark the location, we'll request Operations to investigate it, assuming its not scuttled by the time we get a team rallied up." Overall he nods approval, turning back to the team, "Good work though, Bots. We got them out of here, we've got plenty of thugs to process. I'm sure Prowl'll be happy to look into that, maybe Defcon. And most importantly, nobody got injured or held hostage. You did great, all things considered." He wipes some of the char off of his chestplate, flecks of metal dropping to the ground, "And Springer, still looking after me, after all this time." He breaks into his trademark grin for a few moments, actually managing a short laugh. Maybe Punch was right, sometimes you just had to let things slide. "Let's go get these guys in the brig, and get Sludge his cookie." He adds, "Dinobot sized cookie..." EVERYBODY LAUGHS. Sludge simply looks proud. Job done cookie acheved. Brontosaurus laughs! Zipline smacks her head with a paw a couple of times, making something rattle a little inside. "Sure, sure, got a hole in my side and my head won't stop ringing," She says, glancing up at Crusade, "Totally awesome. Wicked shot, by the way." She turns to glare at the 'hidden' panel, as if it had purposfully hurt her. "Right, mark the spot. Can do!" She gets herself up to all four paws again and... And get your minds out of the gutter. Zip rears back on her hind legs and places her paws on the hidden panel. One after the other, with claws unsheathed, she rakes them down the panel, leaving a sizable 'X' on the panel. "X marks the spot!" Then a pause. "Hold on, how come Sludge gets a cookie?" Springer holds up his hands at Zipline's quesetion, "Don't look at me.. I paint, not cook." Crusade shrugs a shoulder, still looking unhappy. "He got away. We were supposed to stop him..." His doorwings slump. Yep, he definitely looks like a very upset bot right now. He stays close to Zipline as she goes about marking the hidden door, a glum silence hanging over him. "I think Sludge deserves a metric ton of cookies," Arcee admits. Springer looks at the radicals, "So we have transport coming in to move these guys? Or am I dragging them back by their feet?" "Seven, you've done enough already...the guys are on their way to haul these mechs to lockup," Arcee lets Springer know. "I'm not sure we closed down the ugliness in this place, but one thing's for sure, we definitely screwed up the Combaticon's plans. AND...no Bruticus." -Meanwhile- Eventually Swindle pulls into the tunnel off-shoot he was using as a cache point between deal runs. Tch. He's going to have to move again, it was only a matter of time before the Autobots got the hidden entrance open and started looking for the rest of the operation. It was a fact of life for this sort of business, you move on when things get too hot. Shifting back to robot mode, Swindle took out the real briefcase (not the one Crusade sliced up) and opened it, just long enough to make sure all the credit units were intact still. Satisfied, he closed the case and walked back out into the main tunnel, turned and headed down the route leading back to Nova Cronum's railyard. Five minutes later a small explosion rung the tunnels behind him, destroying the cache off-shoot. His business had been a success while it lasted. That's all that really mattered.